Automatic street-indicator.



A. C. RIGHHBIMER 6a P. W. KOCH.

AUTOMATIC STREET INDIOATOR.

APPLICATION FILD MAR SO, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

1 I I I I I I 1 1 1 I 1 I I I I I 1 1 I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 1 1 I I 1 I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 M I I 1 I I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 I I 1 me/zra: 2 C2 ZZ' MUM A. C. RICHHEIMER & P. W. KOGH.

AUTOMATIC STREET INDIGATOB.

APPLICATION I'ILEI) HAR.30,1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

A. C. RIGHHEIMER & P. W. KOCE.

AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATOR.

APYLIOA'TION TILD MAR. 30, 1910. 980,336. Patented Jan. 3. 1911.

UNITED sfrA'rEs PArENT OFFICE,

ALEXNDERC. RICHHEIMEB AND PAUL W. KOCH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

i UTOMA'I'IC STBEET-INDICATOR.

Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 19.11

Application flled March 30,-1910. Serial No. 552,404.

To all 'whom 'it 'may concern: i

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER C. Ri'on- HEIMER 'and PAUL IV. KocHLcitizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have jointly inveiitedcertain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Street-Indieators, of which the following is a description.

Thisinven'tion relates to improvements in automatic street indicators for electric cars, and aims particularly to display at predetermined intervals the names of' the next succeeding streetsor stations so that they may be read by the passengers on the car. It is also adapted to. display advertising matter in connection with the display of street names; although this feature is merely auxiliary to the display of street names or stations.

It is an object of our invention to produce a device of' this characterwhich shall be as light in construction as is consistent with the strength and etliciency required,l since each pound added to the weight of a car increases the cost of transportation.

It is another object of our invention to produce a device of this character which' shall be simple in construction, thereby reducing the cost of production and of maintenance.

Still another object of our invention is the provision of a device which shall be certain and positive in its operation irrespective lof the speed in which the car may be traveling, also iri'espcctive of sleet, snow, or other unfavorable weather conditions.

The inventien compi'ises a web having suitable inscriptions thereon, the'inscriptions on one side being the names of the streets or stations along the route which the' car is to travel; and the inscriptionsjon the other side being in. the form of advertising or any other preferred subject matter. The web is adapted to be rolled from one roll onto another, and during its passage both sides of the web are exposed to the view of the passengers' on the car.

The web is operated by means`of solenoids and the rolls are positively driven atn varying speeds to accomrndate the Variation in size of the rolls as the web is wound from one to the other. The solenoids are actuated intermittentl by the automatic closing of a circuit with the line wire by means thereto.

of a shoe connected with the line Wire and a 'yieldin ly mounted-arm carried by the trolley-polzeI on a car.

Our invention will bo best understood by reference to the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying d-rawings illustrating a prefcrred embodi" course ofl` the web as it is wound from one roll to the other. F ig. 4 is an enlarfl'ed elevation of theup with our improve contact member attached Fig'. 5 is an elevation looking to- Ward the right in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail elevation ot' the s'olenoid shown at the left in Fig. 1. 11`ig.'7 is a detail perspective of our iin roved contact member carried by the trolIey-pole. Fig. 8 is an end elevation of our contact shoe attached to a span wire. Fig. 9 is an elevation looking toward .the left'in F ig. 8, and, Fig. 10'is an elevatioh of the electrical mechanism for Operating the web driving drum.

On the drawings, 11 designates the box or receptacle of any suitable construction r endv of a trolliey-pole adapted to contain 'the indicating mechanism, and between the sides of Which'are journnled the web rolling sbafts 12 and 13 provided with rolls 14 and 15 upon which the indicating web 16 is adapted to be wound.

A driving drum 17 mounted on the shaft 18 is provided with suitable teeth or projections 19 to engage with the edges of 'the web 16 and feed the web along from one roll to the other. The web as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is led from the roll 15 around-the i:''uide-rell 20 located near the bottom of the ox; thence,` upwardly across the opening 21 in the front of the' box through which the advertising or other inscriptions with which the web is provided, may be seen; then over the guide-roll 22, down and around the driving drum 17, over the guide-roll 23, around the roll ^14, over the guide-roll 24, beneath' the guide-roll 25, and back to the roll 14 uponA which` it is wound. .The location of the various guide-rolls and the openings through the .walls of the box, however, may be changed from the position shown, if desired, so that the web will travel past openings which maybe made in the rear of the box as well as the front, so that the inscription on the web can be vread from either the front or the rear.

An opening 26 isprovided in the front of the box above the opening 21 and through which the names of the streets can be seen by the passengers.. Itwill be noted that the reverse side of theA web is seenthrough the opening 26 from that seen through the opening 21; hence, it' will be evident that the names of the streets may be printed upon one side of the web and that the other side may be used for advertising matter or any other form of inscription that is desircd to be placed thereon. The openings 21 and 26 are preferably covered with glass in order to eXclude dirt and dust from the interior of the mechanism.

It will be evident that as the Web is wound from the roll'15 onto the roll 111, the diameter of the two rolls will continually vary,` e., the size of the roll of web upon the roll 15 decreases, while that upon the roll 14 increases. In order to drive the rollsso that the web may be wound slowly from one onto the other without either wrinkling the web by feeding it faster than' it is wound, or tearin'g the web by winding` it faster than it is fed, we have provided an improved driving device Whereby the two rolls are con- ,nectcd together so as to be driven one from the other at the desired relative rates of speed. 1

O-n the shaft 12 at one end of the roll 11, there is secured a short'roll 27 of substantially the same diameter as the roll 14. Upon the shaft- 13 in alinement with the roll 27 is secured a corresponding roll 28. A I'ibbon 29 yof substantially the same thick- .ness and texture as the indicating web, is led from the roll 28 over ay guide-roll 30 and wound upon the roll 27,` so that the ribbon' is all on the roll 27 when the Web is all on the roll 14. An elastic belt 31 encircles the rolls 27, 28, and 30, outside the ta-pe 29. It will be evident that as'the .indicating web and the ribbon or tape 25) are wound from one roll onto the other simultancously, the sizes of the roll lof web and tape upon the rolls 14, 27, 15, and 28, will increase and decrease in unison.

Assuming that the indicating' web and the ribbon are both wound upon the rolls on the shaft 13, if the drum 17 is turned' in a counter-clockwise dircction looking' at Fisz. 2, the Web will bc unwound by the drum from the roll 15. As the web unwinds the ribbon 25) also unwinds proportiouately fromthe roll 28x The clastic belt 31 .will be carried around by the roll of ribbon on the roll 28,

thel web and ribbon may be wound alter-.

nately from one roll to the other, and that the same tension Will be maintained upon the web at all times in its travel.

The shaft 18 uponv which the driving drum 17 secured, is mounted in the sidcs of the box or receptacle, as shown in Fig. 1,

and has one end extending outside the bo); to which there is secured a knob or operating handle By means of this knob the mechanism may be operated manually to wind the web upon either lone of the rolls previous to starting out on a trip with the car, or it may be used for adjusting the web or for changing its position in case the car should be switched onto another track. It is not intended, hovvever, that the device shall be operated manually to indicate each street or station on the route, as are some of the indicators heretofore employed. I

Our invention is adapted to be operatcd automatically and at predetermined intervals by a plurality of solenoids 33 and 31. The solenoids may be of usual construction and composcd of a suflicient number of windings to give the required movement to the cores. I

eferring particularly to Figs. 2 and 10 in which the solenoid 34 is shown, itwill be seen that the core 35 tits snugly within the core casing 36 in the center, of the core; The top of the core is covcred by a plate 37 provided with a smallopening 38 of sutlicicnt size to permit the passage therethrough of the reduced end'39 of the core.. The plate 37 having` the small opening 88, is employed for the purpose of providing a dash-pot. in which the core works, 'so that when the solenoid is energized, the corewill not be jerkedupwardly with sutlicient rapidity to tcar the web or injui'e the mechanism of the device. The movement of the core is limited by a stop 40 which may be located .iu the.

core .casing 36 in a position' longitudinally llG A rack-bar 41 provided with iucliin'd' inoperative position, as shown on the drawing's, therac (-bar'is lowered so that itslteeth are out of enga'gement with the ratchetwheel, and the shaft 18 is permitted to be rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation imparted by the rack-bar 41.

The solenoid 34 is energizeol,l from the' motor circuit of the car, the motor bein' designatedin Fig. 10 by 47. The solenoicl circuit is closed by the 'contacts 48,,one of which is moulited on the' member' 48' adapted to be actuated by the magnet 49, asiwill be hereinafter described. The eircuit is maintained closed by the magnet -50 through which the current flows before assing through the windings of the`solenoid 34, the switch '51, and eventually to ground through the normally closed contact 52. When the solenoid isenergized the core 35 will bedrawn 111pwardly, carrying withit the rack-bar 41, t teeth of which engage with the ratchet-bar 44 and rotate theydriving driun' 17 in a ,counter-clockwi'e direction, looking at Figs.

2 and 10. As the core reachesthe limit of its upward movement, the end of the reduced -portion 39 enga es andl liftS the contact member 52, thus reaking the e ircuit at vthis point. T he'core will ynow drop under' the influence of,gravity to s normal position,

-the teeth 42 sliding o er the inclined teeth of the ratchet 44 during the downward moveme'nt of the rack-bar. The spring 46 is designed to maintain the rack-bar 42 in engagement withthe ratchet-wheel during the upward movement of the bar, butwill permit the bar to yield sufliciently to resume its 4normal inoperative lposition under the influence of .gravity. The upward movement of the core and rack-bar is'designed to imparta quarter turn to the driving drumyand in order. that the 'drum may 'not be turned backwa-rdly due to the frictional engagement of the teeth 42 with the ratchetwheel 44 upon the vdownward movement of the rack-bar, we have provided a spring 53 secured at one end upon the frameof the indicator, and provided at its other end with y a slight projection adapted to seat in the 'noid 34 is repeated at predetermined intervals until the car has reached the limit of itsrun and the indicating web is substantially all wound upon the roll 414. i iVhen the 'car returns over the same route it is necessary to reverse Athe direction of rotathe contact point 55, which closes the circuit through the' solenoid 33. If, for any reason, it becomes clesirable to cut out the indic'ator, the switch 51 may be thrown onto the point 55'. This solenoid and its connection to the drum 17 is similar in all respects to the solenoid 34 'and its connections previously describ'ed, exce t that, as shown in Fig. G, the rack-bar 5 is located o n'the opposite side of the shaft 18 and is'adapted to engage with a ratchetf58 mounted on the shaft to rotate the drum'in a clockwise direction, looking at F igs. 2, 6, and 10. Rotation of the drum in this direction will feed the web from the roll 14 back onto the roll 15.

The'magnet 49 which' closes the solenoid circuit may be energized by closing the 'hand-switch 59, but in the ordinary automatic operation of the device, the magnet is energized from the line circuit, as shown in Fig. '10. `A circuit is established from the winding of the magnet through a resistance lam 60, preferably positioned behind the we opposite the opening 26 to illuminate the inscription on the web, and' the fuse (51 to the contact member 62, pirotally mounted upon an arm 63 projecting laterally.from a trolley-pole (54. The arrm 63 is insulated from the pole by an insulating ring 65.' Secured upon the arm adjacent the contact member (S2, is a stationary arm G6 which is connected with the contact. member by a spring (57 which yieldinghr reta'ins the contact member in a position to make contact with a plate 68 connected with the linel wire 69 by a connection TO.` The plate 68 is insulated by insulation 68' from the channcl-shoe 71 in which it securcd, the shoe being supported upon the s ian wire 72 by means ot' the frame nu'imbers i3. The frame carrying the channel-shoe is maintained in position on the span wirc and pre- 'vented from becoming displaced by a bracc 74 sccured to the topwof the frame and attaehed to ,the connection'75 between the span and line wires. The dowifwardly projectingflanges of the channel-shoe protect. the contact plate (SS from an accumulation of ice or snow, also atford a guide for the ,contact mcmbero to insure a' perfect coutactbetween its upper end and the plate. The end 7G of the contact member is preferably made of carbon in order to prevcnt buruing' 'away ot' the member by the sparks when the contact is broken aspthe member leaves the shoc. The magnet 49 is designed to be operated by a very small amount of current; a momentary contact between the arm 62 and the contact plate 68, such as lOQ w wz' ...mia

` position relative to the pole, and it is preferably so positioned that the contact member shall not extend above the pole when the pole is-lowered, so that it Will not be struck and broken -off by overhanging obstacles or when passing beneath low bridges or culverts. The arms 68 and '6G are pref- 'erably covered With insulating` material 'to prevcnt the establishment of a Circuit and theaccidental operation of the indicating web in case the trolley should jump thel Wire and the arm 63 should fiy up and strike the line Wire.

lVhile we have shown 'and described a preferred embodiment of`our invention, it will be `obvious that changes in the minor' mechanical details may be resorted to within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invcntion or sacrificing any of the material advantages thereof.

Vhat we claim is: v

1. In an automatic street indicator, they combination of a plurality of rolls, a Web' having suitable inscriptions thereonadapted to Wind upon said` rolls, a drum provided with means to positively eng'age said Web, a ratchet wheel secured upon each end of the drum with the teeth thereof facing in opposite directions, a solenoid disposed adjacent each of said ratchet Wheels and at opposite. sides of the drum, means for alternatively energizing said solenoids at predetermined' ntervals, a rack connected to the core of each solenoid and adapted to engage and turn its adj acent ratchet wheel vwhen moved longitudinally in one direction and to slide idly over said ratchet Wheel When moved in the ot-her direction, said rack having a smooth surface which is opposed to its ratchet Wheel When in normal position whereby to permit said Wheel to turn independe'ntly of said rack, means for yieldingly urging said rack toward said wheel, means for retarding` the operative stroke of said rack., and a stop for limiting the operative movement of the rack.

2. In an automatic street indicator, the combination of a plurality of rolls, a Web having suitable inscriptions thereon adapted to Wind upon said rolls, a drum provided with means to positively engage said Web, a ratchet wheel secured upon each end of the drum With theteeth thereof facing in opposite directions, a solenoid disposed adjacent each of said ratchet Wheels, means for alternatively energizing said solenoids at predetermined intervals, a rack connected to the core of each solenoid at opposite sides of the drum and adapted to engage and turn its adjacen't ratchet wheel when moved longitudinally ,in one direction and to slide idly over said ratchet I*wheel When moved in the other direction, said rack having a smooth surface which permits its ratchet wheel to rotate independently of the rack When said rack is in normal inoperative position, means for limitin the operative stroke of the core of each so enoid, and a device carried by eachcore for breakin the solenoid energizing circuit when sai core has reached the limit of its'operative movement.

3. In an automatic street indicator, the combination of a plurality-of rolls, a Web having suitable inscriptions thereon adapted to wind upon said rolls, a drum providedl with means to positively engage said Web, a ratchet wheel secured'upon each end of the drum with the tceth thereof facin in' opposite directions, a solenoid dispose adj acent each of said ratchet Wheels, a rack pivotally connected to the core of each solenoid, saidv `racks being disengaged from their ratchets When in normal position and mounted at op- 'posite sides of the drum, electric circuits for energizing said solenoids at predetermined intervals comprising a primary circuit including an electro-magnet, a secondary circuit including said solenoid and adapted to be closed by said electro-magnet, a contact included in said secondary circuit, .and means carried by the 'core of each solenoid for actuating said contact t o Vbreak the secondary circuit When said core has reached` the' limit `of its operative movement. ALEXANDER C. RICHHEIMER' `PAU L W. KOCH. Witnesses:

. J. WILSON, M. RoBnRTsoN.v 

